JP2000151807A - Network service method and apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Summary] [PROBLEMS] To enable connection from a wireless telephone terminal to a data communication network. SOLUTION: Voice / data conversion for converting voice format information into data format information, converting data format information into voice format information, and converting a call signal between a mobile telephone communication network and a data communication network. With device.
This voice / data conversion device may be provided in a telephone network for voice communication or in a data communication network, or provided for each of the base stations A and B to establish a switching connection by a data communication method in the telephone network. May go.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a method and an apparatus for providing a data communication network service to a radio telephone terminal.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, in mobile communication, almost all services are based on voice call connection, and voice telephone communication using radio waves from a portable terminal such as a PHS or a portable telephone is not available. In a base station, which is a relay means of wireless communication, the data is converted into a transmission method for a telephone network for voice communication and connected to the telephone network, and data input / output to / from a portable terminal is based on voice communication via the telephone network. Was being serviced as.

That is, a radio telephone terminal of a mobile communication network communicates with a base station by radio waves of a frequency designated by a base station in the area every time the mobile telephone terminal moves. Since the fixed telephone terminal is connected to the telephone network for voice communication, each wireless telephone terminal is based on a telephone communication connection based on a telephone network based on the same telephone number as the fixed telephone terminal, for example. Met. In addition, in the telephone network, facsimile communication is included in addition to voice communication,
All are handled in the same way as voice telephone communications.

On the other hand, in a data communication network, each data terminal is provided with a unique identifier (ID) different from a telephone number, and a caller can connect to a target party by calling an identifier on a called side. Is done. Further, each transfer data in the data communication network including voice information such as an Internet telephone is converted into a format of a packet of a predetermined length to which a header, a trailer and the like are added.

[0005] Further, in the current Internet telephone, a microphone and a speaker are connected to a personal computer terminal and dedicated software is used in order to perform real-time voice communication between terminals. The voice may be interrupted in the middle of a conversation.

[0006]

As described above, in the case of a wireless telephone terminal, voice is connected and exchanged as voice information over a telephone network. Therefore, voice communication from a wireless telephone terminal cannot directly connect to a data terminal of a data communication network (such as an Internet telephone),
The disadvantage is that the wide range of services of the data communication network cannot be obtained.

[0007] Further, since the communication fee is calculated based on different standards depending on the network, it is not possible to switch to a low-cost network at any time according to the content of the communication and try to make the communication fee more economical. There was a point.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a network service method and apparatus capable of connecting a wireless telephone terminal to a data communication network.

[0009]

According to the network service method of the present invention, a function of converting voice information to data and from data to voice information (hereinafter referred to as voice / data conversion function) is provided, and the wireless telephone terminal is provided with a data conversion function. It is intended to connect to a communication network to provide data communication services to wireless telephone terminals.

The voice / data conversion function may be provided on either side of the telephone network or the data communication network, or provided for each base station which is a wireless communication relay means. The exchange connection may be performed by the data communication method including the voice communication between them.

[0011] A network service apparatus according to the present invention includes means for converting information in voice format to information in data format, means for converting information in data format to information in voice format, and means for converting between a mobile communication network and a data communication network. Connection means.

The network connection device may be provided in a telephone network for voice communication or in a data communication network, and connected to the data communication network from a wireless telephone terminal via the telephone network.
It may be provided in the base station of each wireless communication relay means and connected directly to the data communication network from the wireless telephone terminal.

[0013]

Next, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 shows an example of a mobile communication network. When performing communication with the wireless telephone terminal b, the wireless telephone terminal a passes through the base station B that receives the wireless telephone b from the base station A, which is a wireless communication relay unit, via the voice telephone network, as indicated by a broken line. Connect.

On the other hand, even when the wireless telephone terminal c performs data communication with the Internet server C or the like of the data communication network, the connection is made via the voice telephone network as shown by the dashed line.

FIG. 2 shows a first embodiment having a voice / data converter in a telephone network. This voice / data converter has, as its own identification code, a unique telephone number in the telephone network and an ID which is a unique identification code in the data communication network. The ID is, for example, an IP address or a host name in the case of the Internet, but is not limited thereto. The conversion device further includes a function of converting a destination identification code to a data terminal transmitted from each terminal in the telephone network including the mobile communication network, and a function of converting each terminal in the telephone network and the mobile communication network transmitted from the data terminal. It has a function of converting each to a destination telephone number.

Next, the operation of this embodiment will be described.

When a call is made from a wireless telephone terminal to an Internet telephone, an Internet telephone number is input from the wireless telephone terminal, and the telephone is first connected to a voice / data converter. The voice / data conversion device specifies a connection destination in a data communication network from an Internet telephone number under the control of an Internet server or the like.

On the other hand, when a call is made from a data terminal in a data communication network to a wireless telephone terminal, the number of the wireless telephone terminal is specified after connection to the voice / data conversion device. The same applies to the case where a wireless telephone terminal is connected to an Internet server or the like in a data communication network. Data modulated in the same manner as voice from a wireless telephone terminal and data from the Internet server are voice / data.
The data is converted into voice in the data converter.

FIG. 3 shows a second embodiment in which voice / data conversion is performed by a voice / data converter provided by a communication service provider of communication control means connected to a data communication network. When the data communication network is the Internet, the Internet telephone caller once connects to a communication service provider, designates a voice / data conversion device as a connection service provided by the provider, and then specifies the number of the wireless telephone terminal and the like. specify. In this case, the voice / data conversion device provided by the communication service provider may be a wireless telephone device or a normal telephone device as long as it is connected to a voice telephone network.

On the other hand, when the wireless telephone terminal receives an Internet service or the like via the voice / data conversion device of the present invention, a proxy function (multimedia database, WWW, etc.) provided by a communication service provider is provided. With the function of relaying access to various services, it is possible to receive various wide-ranging services such as data caching and file provision.

FIG. 4 shows a third embodiment in which the voice / data converter is arranged near each base station of the wireless communication relay means, and voice communication from the wireless telephone terminal is always performed via the data communication network. Communication and exchange. This makes it possible to connect to all data terminals such as Internet telephones using the data communication network, and to communicate with any wireless telephone terminal via the base station via the voice / data converter of the connection destination. Can be performed.

Further, by exchanging communication of a user of a wireless telephone terminal such as a portable telephone by a data communication network, a telephone communication charge is calculated based on a charge for data communication. This has the advantage that the user can usually enjoy lower-priced communication.

On the other hand, connection with a data communication network is realized, and communication with a mobile phone from an Internet telephone or the like using existing data communication becomes possible.

[0025]

As described above, according to the present invention, by providing a network connection device having a voice / data conversion function in a telephone network or a data communication network, not only a wireless telephone terminal but also a fixed telephone terminal can be used. There is an effect that it can be connected to a data terminal of a communication network.

By providing a network connection device in each wireless communication relay means, each wireless telephone terminal selects either a telephone network or a data communication network for connection with another wireless telephone terminal. There is an effect that can be switched.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a system configuration diagram of a mobile communication network.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of a first embodiment in which the voice / data converter of the present invention is provided in a voice telephone network.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram of a second embodiment in which a voice / data converter is provided in a communication service provider near a data communication network.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram of a third embodiment in which a voice / data converter is provided near each base station.

[Explanation of symbols]

 A, B wireless communication relay means, base station C communication control means, Internet server, etc. a, b, c wireless telephone terminals

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Claims (8)

[Claims] 1. A telephone network for exchanging voice communication between telephone terminals at fixed locations, and a mobile wireless telephone terminal connected to the telephone network by wireless communication relay means distributed in each region. A connection service method between networks comprising a mobile communication network, and a data communication network for providing a data communication service between data terminals including data converted from voice, a step of converting voice information to data, and A step of converting data to voice information (hereinafter referred to as voice / data conversion function), connecting the wireless telephone terminal to the data communication network, and providing a communication service to the wireless telephone terminal. Network service method to do. 2. The network service method according to claim 1, wherein said voice / data conversion is provided in said telephone network. 3. The network service method according to claim 1, wherein the voice / data conversion is provided in the data communication network. 4. The network service method according to claim 1, wherein said wireless communication relay means has said voice / data conversion, and performs exchange connection by a data communication method in said telephone network and data communication network. 5. A telephone network for exchanging and connecting voice communication between telephone terminals at fixed installation locations, and a plurality of wireless communication relay means in which mobile radio telephone terminals are distributed and arranged for each area, and connected to said telephone network. In a connection device between networks, comprising a mobile communication network to be connected and a data communication network for providing a data communication service between data terminals including data converted from voice information, the voice format information is converted to the data format information. A network connection device, comprising: means for converting information in a data format into information in a voice format; and means for connecting between the mobile communication network and the data communication network. 6. The network connection device according to claim 5, further comprising means for converting a destination identification code for each network.
The network connection device according to item 1. 7. The network connection device according to claim 5, wherein the network connection device is provided in a telephone network, and a wireless telephone terminal of the mobile communication network is connected to the data communication network via the telephone network. 8. The network connection apparatus according to claim 5, wherein said network connection apparatus is provided near each wireless communication relay means, and said telephone network has exchange connection means for exchanging connection between telephone terminals by a data communication method. .